It’s getting harder and
harder to classify what a “Mid-Major” is now. The little guys in college
basketball are getting better and better. Gonzaga is becoming a national
powerhouse but I would still consider them a mid-major because of the
conference they play in. So on this list
there will be no power 6 conferences (SEC, Pac-12, ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, and
Big East) and no American Athletic Conference teams because they have too many
good teams. They also have the worst new conference name any asshole could’ve
come up with. Last, the more threes a team shoots, the more I’m attracted to
them (In case you didn’t know)
Here we go with the
countdown:
10. Belmont (8-2)
Ok this is probably one
of my favorite teams in the country. I’ve always had a crush on Belmont since
they almost beat Duke with stupid Gerald F*ckin Henderson and I love the way
they play. They probably have the most amount of white guys on a team in the
country, they chuck 3’s, and they move the ball insanely well. They run a
Princeton style offense AKA backdoors and 3’s. JJ Mann has that senior leadership
I love in a mid-major. He’s shot like dogshit so for but it’s just a matter of
time before it clicks for him. That win over UNC put them on the map, but it
was no fluke. They’re a fun team to watch and average the 34th most
PPG, 22nd most ASG, and 19th best FG Percentage. Mark the
December 21st game at Kentucky on your calendar, these guys could be
the top Cinderella suitor come March.
 |
| Look at how many white guys they have...and they're good |
9. Harvard (7-1)
These guys will be a
big Cinderella pick after their win last tourney against New Mexico and it’s
with good reason. Unfortunately they lost to Colorado which would’ve been a
nice win, but they’ll have one more shot to prove themselves to the world
(@UConn Jan. 8th). I don’t see many chances for Harvard to mess up
the rest of the way – it’s a cakewalk. They just have to win the regular season
Ivy title because everyone in the conference is too smart to play in a
conference tournament.
.png)
8. New Mexico (5-1)
Something about New
Mexico is still sketchy to me. Umass put the beatdown on them after they
squeaked by UAB. It could be that the Harvard loss in the NCAA tournament still
sticks in my head but they’re just not a team that I love. I should because
they have a ton of white guys and Senior Cameron Bairstow is Austrailian (plus
looks like Dennis Oralls). They score a lot of points but I just haven’t fallen
in love with them yet. I’m excited to see them play Kansas December 14th
and Marquette December 21st to get a good look at them.
.png)
7. VCU (6-2)
These guys are kind of
puzzling. They got a big win at UVA, but their tournament in Puerto Rico was a
damn disaster. Florida State, who is no joke, wiped the floor with them by 18.
Then the Rams only knock off Long Beach State by 6 and close the tourney losing
to unranked Georgetown by 4. They went from being ranked 10 to being unranked
in a matter of one week. The A-10 is pretty decent so we’ll get a better look
at VCU in those games, but besides the conference games VCU doesn’t have a stand
out game that you really have to mark on the calendar. They’re sketchy.
Athletic as Hell -- I would never want play for them because they run so much
-- but sketchy.
.png)
6. Boise State (7-0)
I wrote one of these
Mid-Major reports last week, but it was never published on Tailgate Talk
because I was lazy and didn’t post it. When I wrote it, I was learning all this
stuff about Boise State and was like “Oh shit. I gotta watch these guys.” So I
found them on one of the thousands of fox sports channels we get and they were
playing Idaho. What’s crazy about this team is how much they like to run. They
score 97.7 PPG which is good enough to lead the country. What’s even crazier
about this team is that they are almost entirely white guys. This is not the
UNLV where they became the Runnin’ Rebels or Loyola Marymount in their heyday.
However this might be the best attempt for an almost entirely white team to try
and run like those teams. They have five guys averaging double figures and are
extremely entertaining to watch. We’ll see if they can keep it when they
actually play a real team. 12/10 At Kentucky is one to make sure you tune in
to.
5. San Diego State
Like I said, I wrote
one of these last week and didn’t put it on the site. When I wrote it, I did
not even have San Diego State in the Top 10. Well the Aztecs put together a
hell of a run knocking off College of Charleston, Creighton, and Marquette on
their way to winning the Wooden Legacy Tournament. Xavier Thames leads the team
in scoring (17.2 PPG) and had a huge tourney with 11, 26, and 29 respectively
in those games. It’s a young team with Thames and Josh Davis being the only two
seniors on the squad. This is an interesting squad to keep an eye on.
4. Dayton (6-1)
The A-10 might be one
of the more surprising conferences in the country. Dayton is off to a better
start than VCU and Saint Louis whom were two of the favorites in this
conference to start the season. After knocking off then #11 Gonzaga, the Flyers
lost to #18 Baylor by 1. A late shot almost had Dayton in the Maui Invitational
championship. I’m sure a third place finish was a pretty good feeling for the
now #25 ranked Dayton Flyers.
3. UMass (7-0)
THE BOYS ARE BACK.
Marcus Camby has to be proud because the Minutemen are ranked in the top 25 for
the first time since 1998. I said last year that I thought UMass could make a
run at the A-10 chip but they didn’t have it all together and finished 21-12.
This year they look good and a big reason is the duo of Chaz Williams (16.0
PPG, 6.2 APG) and Cady Lalanne (17.8 PPG, 11.3 RPG). A huge win over New Mexico
in the Charleston Classic has to have them feeling even better.
.png)
2. Gonzaga (7-1)
It pains me to have
these guys at 2 because they’re probably my second favorite team in the
country and I think they're better than Wichita State. But I have to have them at 2. The Zags lost Kelly Olynyk to the NBA draft but they’re back. Sure,
they didn’t have an ideal Maui Invitational run losing to Dayton early, but
they rebounded to get a solid W over Arkansas. These guys might be the most fun
team to watch in the country. They rank 5th in the country in PPG,
15th in APG, and 1st in FG PCT. These guys CHUCK--They
shoot over 22 3’s per game. As a team they are shooting 48.1% from 3, led by my
favorite player in the country Kevin Pangos (20.4 PPG, 48.3% 3PT) and Gary Bell
Jr. (15.0 PPG, 54.2% 3PT). Replacing Olynyk inside is the big polish 7 footer
Przemek Karnowski and Sam Dower. It’s a balanced attack with a lot of depth.
This team might be as good as last year’s squad. They’re a little 3-Ball crazy
but that’s why I LOVE this team. Get Cash Zags. Get Cash.
1. Wichita State (8-0)
These guys along with
Gonzaga are borderline mid-majors because they’ve become household names. But
because they play in the MVC these guys take the top spot on the list. The
shockers had two huge early season wins over Saint Louis and BYU in the CBE
Hall of Fame Tournament en route to winning the chip. Cleanthony Early (14.1
PPG, 6.8 RPG) is one of the best players in the country that a lot of people don’t
talk about. He’s a senior and that’s huge to have on these mid major squads.
They also have a gunner with Ron Baker (16.1 PPG, 42.5% 3pt) who’s becoming one
of my favorite players in the country. Look for Wichita to get a comfy seed
around 3-4 this season and make a run in March again.
SHOCKERS.
On The Rader:
Charlotte, Louisiana Tech, St. Mary’s, BYU, Kent St, Toledo, Saint Louis and basically the entire Atlantic 10 Conference
Cheers to the little guys
No comments:
Post a Comment